Spirits Known and Unknown

Thomas, Leon

Summoning a Rarely Heard Side of Free Jazz

Leon Thomas was a journeyman singer with a scattered résumé (Mary Lou Williams, Rahsaan Roland Kirk) when he joined saxophonist Pharoah Sanders's group in 1968. Suddenly, with Sanders's guidance, the topics of his daily conversations became an integral part of his art. Thomas (1937–1999) had things to say about the war in Vietnam and the state of race relations—at times he could sound like the dashiki-wearing radical wandering the student union expounding on society's evils. Thomas relied on musicians versed in free jazz to underscore his message—and proved that music long associated with confrontational shrieking could open minds and soothe souls.

This album, the singer and poet's debut, opens with the song Thomas made famous on Sanders's Karma (1969), "The Creator Has a Master Plan." This version is slightly calmer but just as cosmic; Thomas sings like he wants to liberate his listeners from the prison of their conventional expectations, and he deploys all kinds of tricks to do so. Among his favorites is a slow, undulating, yodel-like incantation that resembles sounds made by Native American singers. He uses this device instead of "scat-singing" in his ad-libs, to call forth spirits known and unknown.

Spirits catches the range of Thomas's art: It positions his protest song "Damn Nam (Ain't Goin' to Vietnam)" alongside the Horace Silver classic "Song for My Father," and features a fired-up Sanders on three cuts, including a roiling version of the saxophonist's "Malcolm's Gone." Many free jazzers talked and chanted on their records during this period, but rarely did they sound as immersed in the moment as Thomas does here.

Genre: Jazz, Vocals
Released: 1969, Flying Dutchman/Bluebird
Key Tracks: "The Creator Has a Master Plan," "Echoes," "Malcolm's Gone," "A Night in Tunisia."
COLLECTOR'S NOTE: The 2002 reissue includes eight jazz standards that were recorded with a big band in 1958 but never released. They're snapshots of a tamer Thomas.
CATALOG CHOICE: Live in Berlin.
Next Stop: Gil Scott-Heron: Reflections.
Book Page: 774